Special education and Section 504 advocates for Pinellas County Public Schools families in St. Petersburg.
3 based in Florida · 3 virtual advocates who work with Florida schools
Advocates get hired after a meeting goes badly, rarely before the first one, which is why most of them start by reading a file that already carries a year of history in it.
Families in St. Petersburg and Orlando run into the same problem. The school says the current plan is working, and the progress report shows the same goal repeated from last year with the same numbers under it.
The meeting itself is the smallest part of the job. Nearly all the hours go into records and email before the St. Petersburg team ever sits down.
Read the evaluation report twice. The second read is where the missing service usually shows up.
No advocate in this directory lists St. Petersburg as their home base. These advocates work from other parts of Florida, and each card names the city.
Based in Wesley Chapel, FL
Special Education Advocate
With 24 years of experience in the K-12 sector, I serves as a Student Support Specialist specializing in academic and behavioral ESE services.
Based in Leesburg, FL
CEO IEP Advocate Espanol
Evelyn Roman-Santos is a bilingual Special Education Advocate with 30 years of experience as a School Social Worker.
Based in Hialeah, FL
Advocate
I look forward to helping families and their students get the crucial support they need. I have varied experience working with families and educators at the state and local levels.
These advocates are not based in Florida. They join IEP meetings by video or phone, which IDEA allows when you and the school agree.
Virtual · based in Bloomington, IL · works with Florida schools
Founder & Advocate
Jade is a former special education teacher who has taught everything from pre-k all the way to transition classrooms with students up to age 21.
Virtual · based in Harrisburg, PA · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate
I’m a special education teacher with experience supporting students with behavioral, intellectual, and learning needs.
Virtual · based in Oscoda, MI · works with Florida schools
Special Education Advocate | Certified Neurodiversity Coach | Certified Neuropsychology Coach
Michelle Velazquez is a Special Education Advocate, Educational Consultant, Master IEP Coach®, and Certified Neurodiversity and Neuropsychology Coach.
39 public schools inside St. Petersburg belong to Pinellas County Public Schools. Each one has its own case manager and its own backlog, and the answer you get about scheduling depends on which building your child attends.
Families who move between Orlando and here change districts, and the new team is not required to keep the old plan word for word.
Confirm your child's district by address before you send a letter or name a district-specific process.
The deadline for finishing an initial evaluation in Florida is 60 calendar days. Put that date on your calendar the day the paperwork goes in.
If the St. Petersburg team says no, ask for the refusal in writing.
Florida gives a school district 60 calendar days to finish an initial special education evaluation. A written request for an evaluation has to be answered inside 30 days. Missed deadlines are handled by the Florida Department of Education, Bureau of Exceptional Education and Student Services, which takes written state complaints from parents.
The Florida Department of Education oversees special education in Florida. It does not license the advocates parents hire.
Check the references and not the letters after the name. Two calls to past clients settle it faster than any credential list.
Advocates do not decide complaints. The Florida Department of Education does, and only after someone files one in writing.
Pinellas County Public Schools is allowed to say no. What it is not allowed to do is say no without written notice that explains the reason.
Being listed for Florida is not the same as taking St. Petersburg cases, so read the service area on each of the 3 in-state profiles before you write to anyone.
Advocates who take Orlando cases usually take these too. Say where you are in the first email so nobody wastes a week finding out.
Answers about hiring a special education advocate in St. Petersburg, Florida, including cost, timing, virtual support, and Section 504 help.
What do special education advocates charge in St. Petersburg, Florida?
Rates run $75 to $250 per hour. What moves the number is experience, the type of case, and whether anyone has to drive to the meeting. Profiles here show the rate when the advocate publishes one.
Do I need an advocate for a routine annual review?
Most parents call after a school says no to testing, after goals repeat unchanged for a year, or a week before an annual review. Earlier is cheaper. An advocate hired the night before a meeting can only read so much.
Who runs special education for St. Petersburg schools?
Pinellas County Public Schools runs the IEP meetings for most St. Petersburg students. District lines and city lines are not the same, so confirm yours by address before you send a letter.
Can I bring an advocate to a Section 504 meeting?
Yes, and the rules differ slightly. Section 504 does not spell out who may attend the way IDEA does, so ask the school in writing before the meeting and keep the answer.
What should a records request say?
A district can charge for copies. Asking to inspect the record in person costs nothing under federal rules, and it is usually faster than waiting for a copy set.
Official Florida links for parents in St. Petersburg.
Last reviewed 2026-08-11.
The same Florida rules apply in Orlando, Port St. Lucie, Hialeah, Tampa and the other cities listed here, or see every Florida advocate.
If nobody here fits, check the Orlando page next. The same Florida rules apply there.
Keep a one-page timeline of what happened and when. Every advocate you talk to will start by building the same thing.
